Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) – Founding father of French sociology – advocated SOCIOLOGICAL REALISM –He sought to prove the existence of society by demonstrating the external constraints that society imposes upon its members –Work on the SUICIDE (1897) – our actions are constrained by the norms and sanctions imposed by society –ANOMIE and SOLIDARITY Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills) • It is a quality of mind, and a capacity to understand the interplay of individual and society, biography and history, of self and the world. • Sociological Imagination enables us to see the connection between our own personal experiences and the social forces in the bigger social world which influence our life. Sociological Imagination enables us to see the connection between our own personal experiences and the social forces in the bigger social world which influence our life. We note that the various facets of our life – familial, religious, economic, political, educational- are shaped by social forces and larger social patterns in our society. • (MILLS) The promise of sociology is that with all the problems and confusion of modern life, it can help us understand what is happening to us and why such social phenomena occur.
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DEFINITION • EDWARD TAYLOR • “CULTURE IS THAT COMPLEX WHOLE WHICH INCLUDES KNOWLEDGE, BELIEF, LAW, ART, MORAL CUSTOM, AND OTHER CAPABILITIES AND HABITS ACQUIRED BY A MAN AS A MEMBER OF SOCIETY.” • Culture is “an organization of learned behavior which, together with tangible and intangible products is shared by and transmitted among members of society. It is a design for living. (Linton, 1960) • Culture is what we think, do and have as members of society. (Bierstedt, 1972) • Culture is an organization of phenomena that are dependent upon symbols; phenomena which include acts (pattern of behavior), objects (tools and things), ideas (beliefs, knowledge, sentiments (attitudes, values) • Culture is everything, which is socially learned and shared by the members of a society. COMPONENTS/ELEMENTS OF CULTURE 1. NON-MATERIAL CULTURE (IDEAS) - SYMBOLIC OR ABSTRACT ASPECT OF CULTURE • BELIEFS • VALUES COMPONENTS OF CULTURE *SOCIAL NORMS –the group’s consensus of what is appropriate in a given situation • FOLKWAYS • MORES • LAWS • INSTITUTIONS • COLLECTIVE BEHAVIORS COMPONENTS/ELEMENTS OF CULTURE • COLLECTIVE BEHAVIORS –FASHION –FADS –CRAZES COMPONENTS/ELEMENTS OF CULTURE 2. MATERIAL CULTURE - Tangible aspects of culture CONDITIONS THAT AFFECTS CULTURAL VARIATIONS 1. ENVIRONMENT 2. ISOLATION 3. TECHNOLOGY 4. DIFFUSION MODES OF ACQUIRING CULTURE 1. IMITATION 2. INDOCTRINATION 3. CONDITIONING 4. ACCULTURATION 5. AMALGAMATION